Fishing boats and other vessels are often equipped with a trolling motor for providing a relatively small amount of thrust to slowly and quietly propel the boat or vessel. They advantageously provide for a finer adjustment of watercraft position than a main motor/propeller combination. Typically, the trolling motor is powered electrically using a boat's existing electrical power source, or a stand-alone electrical power source which in either case is most often a battery. Examples of a contemporary trolling motor may be found at U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,325,685 and 6,369,542 to Knight et al., the entire teachings and disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Trolling motors remain a viable and sought after apparatus for various applications, including but not limited to fishing, recreation, and commercial applications. They typically include provisions for placing the same into a stowed position during transportation. In the stowed position, the trolling motor is generally horizontal and parallel with a top surface of the bow. In the past, a manual manipulation of the trolling motor was required to place it in the stowed position. As an example, a user would rotate the motor shaft assembly which includes a motor shaft, a motor power unit and optionally a head unit, about the base assembly of the trolling motor from a deployed position in which the motor shaft assembly was generally perpendicular to the top surface of the boat, to the aforementioned stowed position.
Trolling motors also typically include a trim adjustment feature which allows a user to vary the distance between the motor power unit including its associated propeller and the mounting location of the trolling motor. This allows a user to operate the trolling motor in shallower waters, or conversely allows a user to ensure the propeller is sufficiently spaced away from the boat hull. This trim adjustment feature in the past has been provided as a manually manipulated feature which essentially amounted to a collar through which the motor shaft assembly was slidable. A set screw or other locking feature is provided on the collar such that when loosened the motor shaft assembly is slidable relative to the collar, and when tightened, the motor shaft assembly is locked at a specific height.
Due to the growing complexity and size of trolling motor systems in recent years, the aforementioned manually manipulated stow/deploy and trim adjustment mechanisms have become difficult if not infeasible to implement. The increased weight and size of newer trolling motor designs essentially made manual manipulation undesirable. As such, recent developments in trolling motor designs have attempted to address this issue by providing mechanically assisted or entirely automated stow/deploy and trim adjustment mechanisms. While such systems have proven to be quite effective, current designs generally have a relatively complex design with a high part count.
As such, there is a growing need in the art for a trolling motor that provides such mechanically assisted or automated stow/deploy and trim adjustment mechanisms with a reduction of parts but retention of functionality. Such a trolling motor would advantageously provide a user with a contemporary trolling motor at a lower cost of purchase, operation, and maintenance given its more compact and efficient design.
The invention provides such a trolling motor. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.